Welcome to the "Food Plate"

[classicman]

After almost two decades, the government's familiar food pyramid has been replaced by a food "plate" that experts hope will make it more clear what to eat - and how much. What do you think? Will the new plate succeed at steering Americans' dietary habits?

I think this is a total waste of money. It is pathetic in that it is virtually the dame damn thing. If it helps, great. But until we do something about the addiction to fat, salt and sugar. The combination is like an orgasm to your brain. Producers have the dosages perfected. Oh and lets not forget high fructose corn syrup which should be illegal all by itself. But we probably wouldn't be able to justify the farm subsidies.....

Oh, I hope to everything holy that we didn't pay more than $50 for that cheap ass tacky graphic. Seriously WTF?

[glatt]

I actually like the graphic. It looks like a plate and cup. Nothing at all like a pie chart. And it has shadows and outlines and color gradients and stuff.

Of course, if it was a pie chart, you would actually be able to judge the relative sizes of the portions instead of just assuming they are roughly equal as they appear here.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by glatt

Of course, if it was a pie chart, you would actually be able to judge the relative sizes of the portions instead of just assuming they are roughly equal as they appear here.

You mean it would be like ... functional?

[Sundae]

No, he means he wants it to look like a pie.

[Aliantha]

I've got to say that I find it really incredible how much sugar there is in American snack foods. Most of them have this weird sort of flavour and texture which is different to what we have here. It's hard to define, but it mostly comes down to sugar content I think.

[wolf]

When is Pfaltzgraff making a set of these?

I can't figure out how much I'm supposed to be able to eat from this thing ... am I supposed to squish bread into the same size as the broccoli I'm having, or can I have the same size pile of Cheetoes? And does my pile size change depending on whether they are baked or cruchy?

[Aliantha]

and how high can you stack your piles?

[gvidas]

I feel like it nicely represents the way that, through lobbying and corporate-cultural inertia, dairy is just sort of tacked on there without much regard for how, where, or why it fits in.

Or: it works great to maintain the status quo. Anyone can glance at that and either imagine their present diet fitting, kinda-sorta-maybe, or find a reason to completely disregard it.

[Sundae]

All-you-can-eat was a foreign concept here when I was a teen.
The only type of restaurant offering it was a carvery - but you only got to go up once.

My Dad and I would compete to see who could get the most on the miniature dinner plates they gave you. I learned more about space and volume in those days than I ever did in science. I put it to great use over the years that I was poor (ie all of my 30s) when packing containers from the salad bar in supermarkets. I could get enough to eat for three days in one small container. You pay by container, not by weight - haha!

Back to original thread - I like these.
But that's about encouraging picky eaters, not about health.
The top picture cracks me up. Cheese and Peas. Very Fast Show.

[ZenGum]

Damned if I'm eating purple protein.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by glatt

I actually like the graphic. It looks like a plate and cup. Nothing at all like a pie chart. And it has shadows and outlines and color gradients and stuff.

Of course, if it was a pie chart, you would actually be able to judge the relative sizes of the portions instead of just assuming they are roughly equal as they appear here.

Mmmmmm... Pie. Since it's a pie chart plate, I'll fill mine with meat pie, vegetable pie, fruit pie, and pecan pie with whipped cream on top.

I don't think it's going to help - the plate's diameter is 30 inches. They's some BIG portions.

[Griff]

Its interesting how the dairy industry controls the cup rather than say clean water or a tall glass of corn syrup.

[Clodfobble]

I think if you actually tried to fill your plate like that at every meal, you'd be doing pretty good. The entire left half must be fruits and vegetables. It's a nice improvement for people who are too uneducated to understand percentages--who also tend to be the worst eaters.

Of course, no one's going to pay any more attention to this than they do to any other basic health recommendations. But I do think it's a major improvement.

[ZenGum]

I'd be curious to see how closely the proportions here correlate with the proportions of the political grey-money that is spread around by the various food-producer lobby groups in Washington.

[Undertoad]

These food-separatists have got to go! What if I have a salad with chicken in it? What if my fruits and dairy go together? What if I have pork risotto with cheese and mandarin oranges, and put everything together in one pot?